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The Moat Index

ASHLAND INC.

ASH · Industrials · FY2025 filings · No moat ·

Doesn't clear the bar

30/ 100
No moat

The four filters

Pricing power51

Median gross margin 30.4% over 10y, very stable.

Returns on capital0

Median ROIC 1.0%, above the 9% hurdle in 0% of years.

Balance-sheet safety28

Net debt/EBITDA n/ax, interest coverage -13x.

Capital discipline47

Owner earnings trend unclear, share count shrinking (buybacks).

Margin of safety

Above valueOn sale
No price data
Owner earnings (normalized)
$306.0M
Est. intrinsic value / share
—
Recent price
$68.64
Discount to value
No price data

Conservative model: 9% discount rate, 0% assumed growth (capped at 4%), maintenance capex ≈ min(capex, D&A).

13 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

ASHLAND INC. booked $1.8B of revenue in FY2025 in the Industrials sector and kept 30.1% of it as gross profit — a moderate-margin business by that measure. After every other cost, −46.3% of each revenue dollar reached the bottom line.

Across the filed record, revenue shrank from $6.1B (FY2014) to $1.8B (FY2025) — about −10.4% a year compounded over 11 years.

It earned −36.2% on invested capital in FY2025, with a median of 1.5% across 12 filed years. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 0/100.

The balance sheet carried $1.3B of total debt in FY2024. Balance-Sheet Safety scores it 28/100.

The share count fell 9.0% between FY2015 and FY2020 — management has been retiring shares, which concentrates each remaining owner's claim. Capital Discipline scores it 47/100.

Put together: Pricing Power is the strongest of the four filters (51/100) and Returns on Capital the weakest (0/100), which is how ASH lands at 30/100 — a None moat.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

FY2013–FY2025 · 13 fiscal years, normalized from ASH’s SEC filings

RevenueSales, as filed$1.8B FY2025
$0$2.5B$5B2013201720212025
Gross marginRevenue kept after cost of goods30.1% FY2025
0%20%2013201720212025
Return on invested capitalOperating profit on the capital employed−36.2% FY2025
−20%0%2013201720212025
Owner earningsCash an owner could take out−$706.0M FY2025
$0$1B2013201720212025

Gaps in a line mean that item isn’t in ASH’s filings for that year — the series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Moat Score history

3 logged readings since Jul 17, 2026 · append-only, never rewritten

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale30.2 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 17, 2026

Score history begins Jul 17, 2026 — the record builds from here and can’t be backfilled.

Tier changesSame-methodology crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

None yet — ASH has read No moat for every logged capture since Jul 17, 2026.

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record can’t be backfilled, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Industrials context

#198 of 309 scored Industrials companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #196SMR NUSCALE POWER CORPORATION30.6No moat
  2. #197AMSC American Superconductor Corporation30.2No moat
  3. #199SKYW SKYWEST INC29.7No moat
  4. #200WLFC WILLIS LEASE FINANCE CORP29.7No moat

Compare ASH with its nearest peers →All Industrials companies on the Index →

Common questions about ASH

Does ASHLAND INC. have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores ASHLAND INC. (ASH) 30.2 out of 100 — below the Shallow-moat bar, so no moat. The four filters behind that score (each 0–100): pricing power 51, returns on capital 0, balance-sheet safety 28, capital discipline 47.
How has ASH's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 3 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 30.2 out of 100 (no moat). No tier changes on record yet. The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.
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Scored from primary SEC filings via the public methodology. Educational only — not a recommendation to buy or sell ASH. See the disclaimer.

ASHLAND INC. (ASH) Moat Score — The Moat Index · Buy Like Buffett